Stepping Stones
by The Rebel Lotus
Summary: When a situation collides the lives of two strangers and the turtles, a bond is forged that will be tested.


**Stepping Stones**

By Zaru-san & weapon13whitefang

Summary: When a situation collides the lives of two strangers and the turtles, a bond is forged that will be tested.

Disclaimer: We do not own any of the turtles or anything other characters in the TMNT universes. They were created by Peter Laird and part of the Nickelodeon family. Zaru Kiys is owned by Zaru-san and Kia Hawkins is owned by weapon13whitefang. Possibly a few minor characters as well.

**A/n:**__This is the prologue to our **Porcelain Trails Series.**__And it is the first story in the series. We hope you'll have a shell of a time following us to the end of this story. XD

**Prologue**

Beneath the bustling streets of New York City, a deep secret laid in hiding. A secret most humans would not be able to understand because of the differentiating characteristics of a physical nature. As with most humans unable to fathom something unlike themselves, their nature was to live amongst the shadows of the sewers, making them their home. While very few know of them, those few humans have become their most trusted allies against the forces of the Purple Dragons and the Foot Clan, who have registered them as mutant freaks of nature.

People, along the lines of finding them out, would become curious as to how their existence came to be. And, as always, the same story of their origin played out from the mouth of the wise elder of the mutants, a talking rat, their father like figure, Master Splinter.

Their beginning, before the mutation, started when they were bought from a pet shop by a little boy. As he and his mother were making their way across one of the Big Apple's busy streets, a T.G.R.I. vehicle sped around the corner causing the young boy to lose his grip on the jar as his mother yanked him out of the way to safety, sending the four baby turtles, and a canister of green ooze from T.G.R.I., onto a small rushing water toward the mouth of an open sewer.

Around that time, a rat who was once a pet to a Japanese man known only as Hamato Yoshi, was wandering around, scavenging for whatever food he could find. And that was when he came upon a broken glass jar and four little turtles crawling around in the green ooze, the broken canister nearby. He felt saddened with their situation and gathered the four up into an old, rusty, coffee can found next to him. The rat had no idea what the green stuff could truly be, and was rather unhappy when one of the turtles whom he was holding his hand, shook it off causing the glowing substance to cover the poor rodent.

He took them to his burrow and allowed them to stay. The next day, he noticed they had doubled in size. Amazed at this new change, it took him but mere moments to figure out the ooze must have been having a strange effect on him as well. For all five of them were growing bigger in size and intelligence. Finally, as time went by, the turtles began to walk and talk, thus the rat finally hearing his given name out of the mouths of his adopted sons.

Splinter, as he was known as, began to teach them the sacred art of ninjitsu. They learned from their Master, who taught them to understand that the world above would never, truly, understand them. When they were a little older, still young but old enough to understand, he gave them each their own names. With an old renaissance book he had found in the sewers, he named each of them, his sons, after the famous renaissance masters.

Michelangelo. A laid-back turtle who wore an orange mask around his eye. He had need for fun and jokes. His passion for music and sports made him all the different from his three brothers. He sometimes caused himself to get in trouble with Splinter for his witty antics and was punished the most of his brothers. But was skilled and wise with his chosen weapon, two nunchaku.

Leonardo. The leader of the four turtles who wore the color blue. His skills were most recognized by Splinter in his younger years, thus training harder then the others. He believed meditation and training should be top priority. Unfortunately, his brothers didn't believe so, leaving him usually frustrated. His skills lie in the use of the two katanas he wields and carries on his shell.

Raphael. A red-bandanna wearing turtle with an attitude. He has a temper that can flare pretty easily when provoked, Leonardo being the cause half the time, seeing as he is a turtle of action, and Leo is a turtle of thought and planning. He has a need for speed, especially on his motorcycle, and a passion for fighting. He'd rather take the initiative when the others won't help. He wields a pair of sais.

Donatello. A turtle who bears the color purple. His high intelligence sets him apart from the rest. His scientific mind keeps his brothers on the bewildered side of things. With the way he thinks, the turtles have convenient living quarters along with transportation and equipment for necessary situations. Although Splinter would rather not deal with technology, he encourages his son to use his inner strength, his mind, to work through situations. He wields the bō staff.

Many years have passed and the turtles have grown. Now at the age of twenty, the five of them continue to live within the darkness, concealing themselves from the outside world except to those they can trust and when they are above and risking their lives to protect those in need. Everyday they continue their training, abiding by Splinter's orders to stay friendly with the shadows.

And yet, as young adults now, the turtles, though skilled and fairly intelligent, still have much to learn about themselves. Things that not even their wise father, that Master Splinter, can teach them. Some things can only be learned from first hand experience.

To be continued…

**A/n2:** We hope you enjoyed this prologue. Please review if you can. :D

Shell Out,

Zaru & Kia


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